Hank Aaron Q&A

Q: I wanted to ask you about the Barry Bonds situation, if I
may. He's 10 home runs away, as you obviously know. Are you
following the statistics?

A: No, I have not really made any comments about that and I
prefer not to really. I'd rather not get into any kind of
discussion about that. I have tried to keep myself looking and
thinking in another direction.

Q: Let me ask you, in general, how closely do you follow
baseball?

A: Very closely.

Q: Do you read stories all the time, read the paper?

A: Oh, I don't read stories. I do follow statistics like who got
how many hits, who did what, but I don't read the story, the
in-depth story. For example somebody told me the other day Michael
Vick was in trouble with raising dogs. I said, 'Raising dogs?' I
didn't know what the story was. I follow as much as I can.

Q: How are you spending your time?

A: I do what I want to do. I try to spend a lot of time in
Florida, my wife and I, so I don't know if I have any set thing. I
don't play golf every day. I don't go to an office every day.
Sometimes I might decide to stay at home. Sometimes I may decide to
go. I have no set patterns.

Q: Do you have a lot of pain from your sport days?

A: I was very fortunate. I didn't have a lot of injuries. I did
crack my ankle one year, broke and cracked it. Other than that I
didn't have any real setbacks.

Q: Do you ever talk to Willie Mays?

A: I have not seen Willie, I bet you, in three or four years. It
might be even longer than that. I think the last time I saw Willie
was, might have been at the All-Star game, might have at the
induction ceremony in Cooperstown.

Q: So what are you doing, checking box scores everyday, all the
statistics, through newspapers or the computer?

A: Both. I watch the Braves play and I can get all the
statistics that you want.

Q: In fact, I was just going to ask you, how closely do you
follow the games?

A: Oh, I watch the Braves play every day.

Q: How many games do you go to a year?

A: I don't go to too many. I don't attend too many, but I watch
on television every day.

Q: Do you have any advice for Barry Bonds?

A: For who?

Q: Barry Bonds, because he went through so much, as you did.

A: I don't have any ... As I said before, I don't have any
advice whatsoever, no advice to anybody.

Q: Have you spoken with him?

A: No. I have not talked to anybody, really.

Q: What will you be doing when he's on the brink of tying or
breaking your record?

A: I have no idea, probably playing golf somewhere.

Q: Would you reconsider your decision to stay away?

A: I will never reconsider my decision.

Q: That's pretty strong. Why is that?

A: Nothing. Just that it's the way I am. ... I traveled for 23
years and I just get tired of traveling. I'm not going to fly to go
see somebody hit a home run, no matter whether it is Barry or Babe
Ruth or Lou Gehrig or whoever it may be. I'm not going anyplace. I
wish him all the luck in the world.

Q: Well, if it happened in Atlanta would you go?

A: No, I won't be there.

Q: Really?

A: No.

Q: If he breaks your mark do you think it's an accomplishment on
par with what you did?

A: I don't know, and as I said before, I don't want to discuss
him, really. Really, I don't mean to discuss anything about it ...
I've stayed out of this.